Wrench.



No. 897,640. PA'TENTED SEPT. 1, 1908. J. MINETT.

WRENCH.

APPLICATION FILED DEO.18, 1907.

a Wm FITLEI WITNESSES Y INVENTOR JOHN MINETT, OF SPRINGFIELD,MASSACHUSETTS.

WRENCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 1, 1908.-

Application filed December 18, 1907. Serial No. 407,023.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN MINETT, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at Springfield, in the countyof Hampden and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inWrenches, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in that class of wrenches known asquick-acting, and consists of a springressed lever pivotally mounted onthe siding sleeve of the wrench, and a locking and releasing dog mountedin such sleeve in pivotal connection with such lever, all as hereinafterset forth.

The object of my invention is to produce a strong, durable, simple andinexpensive monkey-wrench which can be easily and quickly adjusted tofit nuts, bolts and the like, of different sizes, in the manner peculiarto quick-acting wrenches. I attain this object by the means illustratedin the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan view of ascrew wrench equipped with myimprovement Fig. 2, a side elevation ofsaid wrench, portions of the sleeve being broken away the better todisclose the arrangement and construction of the locking and releasingmeans or mechanism, and, Fig. 3, a side elevation of a wrench having aserrated shank with which my improvement is incorporated, the sleevebeing broken away in this as in the preceding View. The major part ofthe handle is broken off in each view.

Similar figures refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

It will be observed that in the first two views I show a wrench whichconsists of a shank 5 having a fixed jaw 6 at one end and a handle 7 atthe other end, a movable jaw 8 with an integral sleeve 9 mounted toslide on said shank, and a screw 10 provided with a serrated head 1.1 bymeans of which said screw is turned, the screw having its bearings at oposite ends respectively in said handle and s eeve in the usual manner,although the passage 12 in the sleeve for the screw is notscrew-threaded; and that in the last view I show a wrench which consistsof corresponding and similar parts to those in the other wrench with theexception of the screw which is omitted, one edge of the shank beingserrated at 13 to take the place of the screw.

All of the parts, members or elements men tioned above are generally oldand wellknown. The new features, which are united with the aforesaid oldelements to make up my improved wrench, reside in a movable dog adaptedto engage and release the screw threads or the teeth 13 as the case maybe,

lever for such dog.

The dog is represented at 14 and the lever at 15, the former beingmounted in a slot 16 in the sleeve 9 and the'latter being pivoted at 17to a post 18 which rises from said sleeve in Figs. 1 and 2. The slot 16opens into the screw passage 12, to which it stands at rightangles, andsaid slot opens also through the outside of the sleeve, so that theouter end of the dog 14 is beyond said sleeve and it is to this end thatthe adjacent end of the lever 15 is pivoted at 19. On the inner end ofthe dog are three teeth 20, more or loss, which are held normally inengagement with the threads or teeth on the screw 10 through the mediumof the lever 15 and a spring 21 hearing against the inner'edge of theterminal of the lever which is opposite the pivoted terminal thereof.This spring is received in a recess 22 at or near the junction of thejaw 8 with the sleeve 9- and is held in place by the walls of suchrecess and by a lug 23 on the inner edge of the lever 15. The aw 8 isslotted at 24 to accommodate the adjacent end of the lever. Said leverhas an expanded or extended thumb or finger piece 25 to facilitate theact of pressing the free end of the lever inward against the resiliencyof its spring. The post 18 has its inner end set firmly in the sleeve,the same being tapped into the sleeve in the present instance.

When the parts stand as shown in Fig. 2 the sleeve 9 is locked to thescrew 10 by means of the dog 14, and said sleeve can be actuated on theshank 5, so as to adjust its jaw to locate the same nearer to or fartherfrom the jaw 7, by manipulating said screw in the usual manner; to bringabout a readjustment of the parts more quickly, however, said dog 14is'disengaged from the screw by forcing inward the free end of the lever15, the sleeve is actuated so as to locate the jaw 8 at the desiredpoint, and said lever is then released to its spring with the resultthat the dog reengages the screw and relocks the sleeve.

and a spring-pressed operating or actuating and thus swing the dog Thehead 11 rotates between the adjacent end of the handle 7 and a shoulder26 on the shank 5, whereby endwise movement on the part of the screw isprevented.

In Fig. 3 the dog 14 is in the form of a pawl pivoted at 27 to thesleeve 9. The free end or tooth 20 of this dog is adapted to engage anyone of the teeth 13. The lever 15 is pivoted at 17 directly to thesleeve and at 19 to the dog near its tooth, and said lever is providedwith the lug 23 for the spring 21 and the thumb or finger piece 25 as inthe other case. The slot 24 for the free end of the lever and the recess22 for the spring are also present as before. A slot 28 is made in thesleeve for the accommodation of the adjacent part of the lever as wellas for the dog. In this last construction there is no provision, as inthe first construction, for actuating the sleeve without themanipulation either manually or automatically of the lever and dog. Itis necessary to depress the free end of the lever outward until itstooth clears the teeth 13 in order to move the sleeve toward the handle,but said sleeve can be moved in the other direction without manuallyoperating said lever, since said dog will then pass over or click by theteeth 13 like any ordinary ratchet, although the dog can be held out ofengagement with said teeth in the same manner as before, during thisoperation, if desired. As soon as the sleeve and movable jaw have beenproperly adjusted the spring brings about the rengagement of the tooth20 with one of the teeth 13 and so locks the parts to the'extent ofpreventing further separation of the jaws.

From the foregoing it is obvious that the only difference between thetwo forms of construction herein shown and described, outside of shape,size and minor details which are unimportant and may be changed. atwill, and outside of the style of wrench, is in the dogs, one of whichis a reciprocating member and the other an oscillating member.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, in a wrench, with a shank provided with a fixed jaw,a movable jaw and sleeve mounted on said shank and slotted and recessedrespectively, such slot and recess opening into each other, and aserrated member, of a movable dog mounted in said sleeve and adapted toengage and release said serrated member, a lever pivotallymountedbetween its ends on the sleeve and having one end pivotally-connectedwith said dog and the other end extending into the slot in said movablejaw, and a spring in the sleeve recess arranged to force normally thedog into locking engagement with the serrated member through the mediumof said lever.

2. The combination, in a wrench, with a shank provided with a fixed jaw,a sleeve provided with a slotted jaw slidingly-mount ed on said shank,said sleeve having a recess therein adjacent to its jaw, and a suitablymounted non-reciprocating screw extending into the sleeve, of alongitudinally reciproeating dog in said sleeve, said dog being serratedat its inner end to engage with said screw, an actuating lever for saiddog pivoted at one end to the latter and pivotally-mounted between itsends on the sleeve, the free terminal of such lever being in the slot insaid movable jaw, and a spring arranged in the sleeve recess to bearagainst the free terminal of said lever to force such terminal outward.

3. The combination, in a wrench, with a shank provided with a fixed jaw,a slotted sleeve provided with a j aw slidingly mounted on said shank,and a suitably mounted nonreciprocating screw extending into the sleeve,of a longitudinally reciprocating dog in the slot in the sleeve, suchdog being serrated at its inner end to engage with said screw, a post onsaid sleeve, an actuating lever for said dog pivoted at one end to thelatter and pivotally-mounted on said post, and a spring arranged to bearagainst the free terminal of said lever to force such terminal outward.

4. The combination, in a wrench, with a shank provided with a fixed jaw,a slotted sleeve provided with a jaw slidingly mounted on said shank,and a suitably mounted nonreciprocating screw extending into the sleeve,of a longitudinally reciprocating dog in the slot in said sleeve, suchdog being serrated at its inner end to engage with the screw, a post onthe sleeve, an operating lever pivoted at one end to said dog andpivotally-mounted on said post, said lever being provided near its freeterminal with a retaining lug for a spring, and a spring between thesleeve and said free terminal of the lever, the outer end of said springbeing held in place by said lug.

5. The combination, in a wrench, with a shank provided with a fixed jaw,a slotted sleeve provided with a jaw slidingly-mounted on said shank,and a suitably mounted non-reciprocating screw extending into saidsleeve, of a longitudinally reciprocating dog in the slot in the sleeve,such dog being serrated at its inner end to engage with the screw, apost on the sleeve, an operating lever pivoted at one end to said dogandpivotallymounted on said post, said lever being provided between thefree terminal thereof and the post on the outer edge with a thumb orfinger piece, and a spring between the sleeve and said free terminal ofthe lever to force such terminal outward.

6. The combination, in a wrench, with a shank provided with a fixed jaw,a slotted and recessed sleeve provided with a slotted jawslidingly-mounted on said shank, and a suitably-mountednon-reciprocating screw extending into the sleeve, of a longitudinallythe movable jaw, and a spring in the recess 10 reciprocating dog in theslot in the sleeve, in said sleeve arranged to bear against said suchdog being serrated at its inner end to free terminal of the lever, theouter end of engage With the screw, a post on the sleeve, said springbeing held in place by said lug.

an operating lever pivoted at its inner end to said dog and pivotallymounted on said post, JOHN MINETT said lever being provided near itsfree termi- Witnesses:

nal with a retaining lug for a spring and hav- ALFRED O. FAIRBANKS,

ing such terminal projecting into the slot in F. A. CUTTER.

